


Kairos

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28000821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: As the Kinkaku Force closes in, Tobirama rethinks his choice of successor.
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kagami & Uchiha Shisui
Comments: 16
Kudos: 102
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Tobirama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kairos: (n) a propitious moment for decision or action; in Greek, literally "opportunity"

It’s been Tobirama’s plan from the time Saru made jōnin to make him the next hokage. Saru is intelligent and devoted to the village, and, through careful selection of his mission assignments by Tobirama, he’s cultivated a reputation for his strength across the continent. He can give Tobirama a run for his money when they train- in terms of raw power and breadth of techniques, Tobirama is outclassed by his former student. It's a relief. Saru has surpassed him, as the next generation must, and in the confusion that will follow Tobirama’s death, it's vital for Konoha to have someone capable of standing strong as hokage.

Saru is a return to Hashirama’s idealism, and in him, Konoha would grow into peace.

The problem, Tobirama realizes as Saru volunteers to be the distraction, is that Saru can't do it.

Tobirama had intended to impress on him the greater importance of being decisive than conciliatory. To be effective, the hokage has to hurt feelings and push people who don't want to be pushed. Peace can't always be made through reconciliation; it has to be bought, sometimes in blood.

Hashirama had the same flaw, but he was dangerously charismatic and more powerful than anyone else. More than that, Tobirama was there to keep his reckless optimism in check, or to clean up afterwards.

The closest person Saru has is Danzō, and the two of them are too volatile.

Danzō is caught between resenting Saru and respecting him, and the longer Saru goes without addressing the problem, the more Danzō’s feelings shift toward resentment. The gap between them could be bridged, but Danzō is too proud to reach across it and Saru is too soft-hearted to keep himself from falling in if he ever realizes he should reach back.

If Saru can't identify and address discord on his own, he won't be a successful hokage.

Choosing Saru based on a hypothetical future where Tobirama has had the time to teach him the importance of fighting is no longer viable, but Tobirama’s other options are thin.

Of the ninjas he once tutored, none of them is a suitable successor.

Koharu reminds Tobirama of himself, and he doesn't need the ghost of his brother to tell him that he served his purpose. Konoha is stable. It doesn't need another Tobirama; it needs someone better.

Homura, the remaining member of Tobirama’s genin team, is no better than Koharu. If Koharu is too aggressive, Homura is too passive.

Tobirama had meant to address that, too. 

He hasn't had much to do with Konoha’s next generation. Hashirama, despite Tobirama’s best efforts, left an administrative nightmare, and sorting out the logistical mess so the village wouldn't become fully dependent on a daimyo’s favor or collapse into debt kept him too busy to socialize.

A mistake, in hindsight, as well as a lie.

Hashirama was beloved because he was warm and good with people. He was a person who could bow his head, even drop into a dogeza, and only seem earnest. It cost him nothing; somehow, his willingness to make himself low had only won him more allies.

Tobirama has none of that. His few friends are long dead or so far removed they may as well be. He had to earn his place as a kage, and with no one to disappoint but Mito, he had no reason to try to pretend to be a man he wasn't. Hashirama could destroy an army with a few seals, but he wouldn't want to. Tobirama can destroy that same army by out-thinking or out-battling it and live with the death toll as a necessity.

There's an irony in Tobirama dying during an attempt at peace.

The Kinkaku Squad will reach them soon. Even working with the raikage and his escort couldn't stop them, and Tobirama is under no illusions about his own chances.

He is, after all, not his brother.

If the six of them stick together and move quickly, however, his subordinates could make it back to Konoha before the Kumo defectors finish with Tobirama.

Tobirama has to make his decision before then or the council will follow the recommendation he left for them and elect Hiruzen.

Chakra vibrates in his head like a rope being shaken. It bounces against the inside of his skull, insisting that he notice it.

Tobirama notices and disregards it.

If he isn't going to choose one of his students or Danzō, there are only two other ninjas he knows well enough to replace Saru as his successor.

The Akimichi or the Uchiha- which will protect Hashirama’s dream?

It should be a harder decision.

“Of course I’m going to go,” he says, interrupting the fight brewing Saru and Danzō.

There are objections, as there always will be when good people are faced with making sacrifices.

“But you're the hokage,” Saru argues.

Koharu and Mitokado murmur their agreement.

Danzō grits his teeth.

Torifu and Kagami watch Tobirama and say nothing.

“The old leaves fall so the new leaves can grow,” Tobirama says. That sounds like something his brother would have come up with. “I expect my students to look after Konoha. Protect the next generation and the one after it. Pass the First Hokage’s Will of Fire onto them.”

Saru, Koharu, and Mitokado nod.

“Danzō, Saru, you have the same purpose. Stop stepping on each other when you're trying to do the same thing.”

Both men bow their heads, one puzzled and one shamed.

Chakra pounds another warning in Tobirama’s skull.

“Torifu,” Tobirama says, pushing his awareness of their enemies aside. “Get my unit home safely. Make sure everyone eats when they return. At the very least, someone will need to retrieve my body, and one of you will have to accompany the Inuzuka tracking team.”

Torifu nods, expression determined. He's a good man, if one who’s too prone to believing Saru.

That leaves only one person.

“Uchiha Kagami.”

Kagami nods, Sharingan glowing softly but not spinning. He’s aware of Tobirama’s opinion of his clan; he must be wondering what final message Tobirama intends to send to them through him.

Tobirama’s vision swims, a clear warning that he's been passively kneading chakra for too long, so he cuts it off. He can guess what path the Kinkaku Force will take now.

Kagami hasn't moved.

“Undo the distrust Madara sowed in our village,” Tobirama orders. Changing his successor like this sits uncomfortably, and Tobirama reminds himself that Kagami was able to overcome the Curse of Hatred. If anyone can realize the dream Hashirama wanted for Madara’s clan, Kagami can. “Bring Konoha prosperity so great that the Third Hokage, Uchiha Kagami, overshadows both Senjus who came before him.”

Danzō makes a sound of disbelief, as do Koharu and Mitokado.

Saru’s mouth drops open.

Torifu lays a hand on Kagami’s shoulder.

Kagami's eyes open wide. The three tomoe in his Sharingan are stark against the red iris, and Tobirama swallows a sudden urge to pull Kagami to his feet and-

Facing death dredges up feelings that are best buried and forgotten. The certainty of dying makes the impulse to act on them even stronger. It's been so long since Tobirama was in danger like this, the force of the longing caught him off-guard. 

He shakes himself and looks each of his subordinates in the eye, waiting for an objection.

None of them is foolish enough to make one.

Tobirama gets to his feet. “It was the First Hokage's wish that an Uchiha would become hokage after him. I can think of none more suited to succeed us than Kagami, and the rest of you will support him.”

He looks back in the direction he last felt the squad’s chakra signatures. “It's time for you to leave.”

In the corner of his eye, he sees Saru finally stop gawping. “Tobirama-sama…”

“I’m still hokage, and this is an order.” Tobirama points toward Konoha. “Go.”

Four ninjas spring away.

Kagami and Torifu remain.

“I’m not like him,” Kagami says quietly. His eyes are wide, his mouth moving like there's something else he wants to say but can't.

Tobirama nods at him. “Thus my choice.” If Kagami were like Madara, Tobirama wouldn’t have brought him to begin with. “Enough second guessing. You're wasting time.”

Kagami bows his head. “Thank you, Hokage-sama. I won't fail you.”

Tobirama looks pointedly in the direction the others left in.

Kagami and Torifu nod, and despite the reluctance Tobirama can see on Kagami’s face, they chase after the rest of their unit.

Kumo’s defectors will arrive soon.

Tobirama pulls a sealed scroll from his armor. He promised to destroy it years ago.

Mito hadn’t been pleased when Hashirama told her how Tobirama used the Uzumaki forbidden fūinjutsu he'd asked her to teach him, but neither of them is here to be angry with him.

Kinjutsu have their place. This one will protect Konoha. They can't be angry with him for that.

The ground shakes- someone must have set off the last of Tobirama’s traps and realized they were close enough it was pointless to bother with stealth.

Tobirama squints up at the waning moon. The weak light will be useful.

He doesn’t have enough chakra to fight and kill them all. He’ll try, but incapacitating all of them is more important than killing some. He only has to buy time for Konoha’s hokage to return.

The Third Hokage, Uchiha Kagami.

What would Madara think if he could see it? Would it even matter?

Hashirama would be pleased. He died angry, demanding as he had from Konoha’s founding that Tobirama make nice, as if the Uchiha had all wanted to do that and generations of violence could be rewritten simply because one man said they should be.

The ground shakes hard enough to rattle Tobirama’s teeth.

In the end, Hashirama got what he wanted; Tobirama’s last decision was to entrust their village to an Uchiha.

So Hashirama can't be angry at Tobirama for breaking a small promise to keep a larger one. After all, he'd already finished the sealing by the time Hashirama found out, and destroying it would have meant everything Tobirama had done would serve no purpose. By keeping it, Tobirama can use the scroll to protect Konoha, including Hashirama’s beloved clan.

Ahead of him, trees splinter.

Tobirama forms a quick seal over the scroll and feels it disintegrate just before one of the brothers barrels into view, golden hair flying as he rushes forward. He grabs Tobirama with one large fist and propels him into the nearest tree, driving Tobirama’s back into it with enough force to break both wood and bone.

It takes Kinkaku a moment too long to realize it wasn't Tobirama’s body that struck the tree but a log.

Tobirama sprints past him and heads east, back toward the other defectors, chakra pounding in his chest. It will take time for it to gather; until then, he just needs to survive.

Konoha will never see its second hokage again, but Tobirama sent Kagami to take his place.

It's a good trade.

It has to be.


	2. Shisui

Shisui finds his grandfather in the hokage’s office. It's been years since Kagami was hokage, but sometimes Kushina needs him to find something from his time in office or help her go over paperwork. 

He's sitting alone behind the desk this time, head down as he writes in one of the series of scrolls spread across the desk.

Despite the air of propriety that always surrounds Kagami, Shisui has always been comfortable with him. No one else would greet the Third Hokage by asking,

“Did you get shorter, o-jiichan?”

Kagami hums but doesn't look up. “Probably. Have you brought me something to make me tall?”

“Sorry,” Shisui says as he sits down, “no luck. Suna hasn't found a cure yet.”

“Maybe next time.”

They’ve done this after every mission since Shisui outgrew him, and Shisui smiles to himself as he waits for Kagami to finish.

He used to spend days at a time with his grandfather when his parents were busy and no one could take him. Kagami was Shisui’s favorite babysitter long before Shisui knew him as the Third Hokage.

Kagami's official hokage portrait is hanging with the other three on the wall behind him.

The Fourth Hokage is the only hokage Shisui has ever answered to, and the bright, almost aggressive smile in her portrait matches Kushina’s personality.

On the opposite end is the First. Senju Hashirama was an unmatched shinobi, a man who was able to defeat even Uchiha Madara and the Kyūbi. The older generations talk about him like was more than human, but the man smiling softly in the frame two spots up from KagamI looks like any other. The small smile on his lips is playful, as if he's looking at someone.

Beside him, his brother’s neutral expression looks cold, almost angry.

Senju Tobirama died long ago, before Kagami married Shisui’s grandmother, but his legacy remains.

Hashirama’s successor is understandable, but Tobirama’s decision to pick Kagami instead of one of his students has baffled Shisui- and the village, if not the world- for years.

“Hey, o-jiichan?” Shisui asks.

Kagami continues writing. “What is it?”

Despite knowing Kagami can't see what's behind himself, Shisui points at the portraits. “You knew the first two hokages, right?”

“I wouldn't say I knew the First, but I did spend time with him when we happened to be in the same place. Hiruzen knew him better than I did.”

“And the Second?”

Kagami looks up. “I knew him better than the First, but he was a difficult man to get close to. They both were. Why the sudden curiosity?”

Shisui considers the question. His curiosity isn't sudden; he's been wondering for years.

“I guess I was wondering the same thing everybody does. How come the Second made you hokage when he hated Uchihas?”

“Ah.” Kagami straightens up. “You waited longer than I'd thought. I was starting to think you wouldn't ask.”

Ducking his head, Shisui rubs the back of his neck. “I didn't want to make you unhappy.”

“I have a good grandson, don't I?”

Kagami smiles as he runs his hand through his hair, fingers breaking up his silver curls. Shisui’s mother inherited them from him, then passed them onto Shisui. In a family of people with thick, straight hair, the three of them stick out. It used to make Shisui uncomfortable, but he shook most of it off when his mother showed him photos of Kagami when he was young. They aren't quite twins, but Shisui couldn't be ashamed of looking like the Land of Fire’s Great Uchiha.

Shisui is the grandson of a living legend. Kagami was never the best or strongest ninja. He wasn't even the strongest living Uchiha. Yet he was chosen.

“The best place to start,” Kagami says, “is by telling you that the Second didn't hate us.”

Shisui frowns. That isn't how he's heard it. “Really?”

Kagami nods. “Our clans killed each other for a long time, Shisui. Even Konoha wasn't free of those memories, not for him and not for our clan.” Madara’s name hangs in the air, heavier than the statue Kagami himself visits. “Hatred is much easier than fear; that's why fear often turns into it. But they aren't the same. Fear can just be fear.”

Shisui frowns at Tobirama’s portrait, searching for some sign of fear but finding only judgment. “So the Second was just scared of us?”

“Maybe not _just_ scared, but he was more afraid than anything else.”

“Why?”

“Because he was a very tightly controlled man, and nothing frightens a person like that more than people who can't control themselves.”

“Can't? Or won't?”

“I wonder.”

Kagami waits as Shisui digests that. He doesn't often seem old the way other people’s grandparents do- Obito’s Hatake friend says Kagami is resisting old age because he doesn't want to deal with Obito fussing at him, and Shisui can't say he's wrong- but sometimes, Shisui looks at his grandfather and sees the old man Kagami is.

It hurts, so Shisui tries not to do it.

“He didn't hate us, but he didn't trust us. So why did he choose you?” Shisui asks, still failing to come up with an answer on his own.

“Tobirama could be secretive when it suited him,” Kagami explains. “Why he chose me is one secret he took with him.”

Disappointing but ultimately, not surprising. “I have another question, then. How come he's the only hokage who's never smiling?”

Kagami coughs around a laugh. “I think Tobirama smiled for a photograph of himself with his team with the First. Hiruzen probably still has it. You'll have to ask him to show you.”

“So he _could_ smile but didn't? That makes it worse.” Shisui looks back at Tobirama's portrait. “Do you ever wonder what he'd think of you as hokage?”

“Of course. I’m sure he would have disagreed with a lot of my decisions, and he would have been right sometimes. I don't have his mind for strategy, nor Hiruzen’s. I made a lot of mistakes before I found my footing.” Kagami’s voice is soft as he adds, “It's a shame that neither he nor his brother lived to see Konoha grow like it has. Madara as well. The Uchihas have finally had children and grandchildren with other clans. By the time you're my age, the clan may have finally accepted that those children are Uchihas as much as everyone else. They may even be in their way to becoming the majority.”

“And the Second would really be okay with that?”

“He would have been more than okay with it. He would have been happy to see us intermarry. Our insistence on keeping the Sharingan in our own bloodline was part of what frightened him. Who knows?" Kagami adds, smiling crookedly. "If he'd lived, he might have married an Uchiha.”

Shisui has heard rumors about his grandfather. He'd assumed they were meant to degrade him, as an Uchiha or a kage or both, but when Kagami turns to look at the portrait, his expression that isn't reverent so much as bereaved.

It isn't Shisui’s business, but he hears himself ask, “Hey, o-jiichan?”

Kagami looks back at Shisui. “What is it?”

“The Second Hokage never had children, right?”

“That's right.”

“And he never married?”

“He didn't.” Kagami tilts his head. “What are you trying to ask, Shisui?”

A lie rushes forward, but Shisui swallows it.

“You and the Second… Was there more between you?”

“Were we a couple, you mean?” Kagami asks, the corners of his lips lifting.

Shisui nods, relieved not to have upset his grandfather. “You're the only person who seems to miss him, and he made you, an Uchiha, his successor, even though he didn't trust us.”

“The Second wasn't beloved like the First, so I suppose I must seem odd,” Kagami agrees, “but no, he and I were nothing more than comrades. I doubt he thought of me as more than a symbol of a good Uchiha.”

“What about you, though? Did you love him?”

Kagami laughs. It's a soft, sad sound. “I might have, in time. I did have a horrible crush on him, and if he'd been willing, I would have done anything for just a kiss.”

Shisui nods again, accepting that. He hasn't fallen in love yet, but he'd like to. His parents were happy together, as were their parents.

Or so he'd thought, but maybe he was wrong about Kagami…

“I loved your grandmother,” Kagami says, predicting Shisui’s thoughts. “Losing her was worse than losing Tobirama. Tobirama was a dream; he wasn't part of me. Your grandmother was. A little of me left with her.”

Shisui nods. Ever since his grandmother died, Shisui has noticed something off about Kagami. “Can I ask you something about that?”

“Of course.”

“How come you never got the Mangekyō?”

This time, Kagami’s laugh is soft but happy. “You aren't the first person to wonder about that, and unfortunately, I don't know the answer this time either.”

“Oh.”

Some of the hope Shisui had been nursing fades.

“But,” Kagami continues, “I do have a theory if you want to hear it.”

“What is it?”

“We get the Sharingan because our bodies flood with chakra, right? My theory is that I don't get so swept up in pain that enough chakra is released to form the Mangekyō.” Kagami shakes his head. “I probably learned that from Tobirama, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Tobirama was a deeply emotional man- I see your doubt, Shisui.”

“I'm not trying to be disrespectful.” Shisui squints at the portrait, searching for some trace of emotion, but the Second Hokage’s expression remains impassive. “I just don't see it.”

“That's the point. Hashirama was effusive; he could make anyone love him. Tobirama was quiet, perhaps because he wasn't good with people, but he had Hashirama’s Will of Fire. It was just hidden. A flame behind a wall burns just as brightly as one in front of you; even if you can't see or feel its full strength, it still burns.

“He was able to be more strategic than Hashirama because he had that wall. I tried to emulate that.”

There's always been a distance between Kagami and the people around him. Shisui had chalked that up to being hokage, but if his grandfather is emulating the Second Hokage, that could account for it, too.

“I see.”

“I wonder about that.” Kagami studies Shisui’s face. “I’m glad I lived long enough that my grandson reached adulthood without thinking about things like this.”

The sadness returns to Kagami’s face, and Shisui feels a flash of guilt. Konoha was founded when his grandfather was around his age. Kagami didn't live through the Warring States Era like the first two hokages did, but he was old enough to have been sent out to kill or die for their clan.

“You don't think the Mangekyō is worth it, do you?” Shisui asks.

“Of course not. It’s a remnant of another time. We aren't alone anymore. With the strength of our friends, we don't need to hope for pain to make us powerful.”

It's that simple for him. Most of the Uchihas agree, but there are those who don't. The discord ripples out into the village now and again; it's caused some parents to keep their children away from Uchihas, which validates the anger.

If it weren't for the Fourth and her close friendship with Mikoto, there would probably be worse than grumbling.

Kagami tried his best, and still does, but even he can't undo all of their clan’s fears.

Shaking off the thought, Shisui asks, “Hey, o-jiichan. Would Tobirama like me?”

Kagami doesn't hesitate. “He would.”

“You didn't even think about it!”

“I didn't have to. You're intelligent and hard-working, and you understand how important the village is. Tobirama respected those traits the most.”

“But would he have _liked_ me?” Shisui presses. 

“I don't know.” Frowning, Kagami tilts his head. “I'm not sure he liked anyone.”

“But you had a crush on him.”

“I didn't have any in the matter, Shisui."

“I don't get it. If he was so cold and didn't like anyone, what did you see in him?”

“There are things you will never understand,” Kagami says sharply. “I'm glad you'll never understand them. I dedicated my life to that end, as Hashirama and Tobirama did before me 

“When I say that I don't think Tobirama liked anyone, I don't mean that he was unkind. He wasn't. But he grew up in a time when one man's desires didn't matter. He spent his life in his brother's shadow by choice. He put Konoha first to such a degree that I doubt he could have told you anything he liked. That isn't a reason to look down on him.”

Voice softening, Kagami adds, “He was a deeply flawed man, but he wasn't a hateful one. He deserves your sympathy, not your judgment.”

Shisui can count the number of times he's seen his grandfather lose his temper on the fingers of one hand. He stares at Kagami, uncertain of what to make of the unusual outburst.

“I'm sorry,” Kagami says before Shisui comes to a decision. He rubs his eyes, and for a moment, the wrinkles on his face seem to swallow him. When he lowers his hands, he looks like an old man.

“Are you okay, o-jiichan?” Shisui asks. 

Kagami smiles at him, but it's brittle. “Yes, I’m fine. It's been a long time since I thought about Tobirama. I'd forgotten how attached to him I was.” Clearing his throat, Kagami glances at his desk. “I've just about finished. The rest can be done at home. What do you say we head back? I'll cook.”

Shisui nods quickly. “That sounds good! Can I help here?”

“You can carry the scrolls for me.”

Kagami rolls the scrolls back up and passes them to Shisui one by one. He’s regained his good mood by the time he finishes, but as Shisui turns to lock the door, he finds himself wondering if his grandfather was telling the truth about only having a crush on Tobirama.

It's clear that Shisui won't find out today, and after a final glance at Tobirama’s stony face, he turns back to Kagami and begins an aggressive campaign for tempura.

Kagami laughs and shakes his head, and Shisui lets himself fall into the comfortable routine of persuading Kagami to make what he wants.

If the ghost of Senju Tobirama seems to hang over them, he's just one of many.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline post-Tobirama is a mess, so please don't think too hard about it 😅


End file.
